Edward Fraser's Column

The crop wasn't outstanding to begin with and it's already been picked over, but there's still plenty of players available who could help a squad win. From a fan (and media) excitement standpoint, this summer’s free agent ‘frenzy’ has been a bit of a dud.
Some players who changed sweaters will certainly have a strong impact, but the feeling around the THN office is that no game-changing, vault-the-team-into-the-upper-echelon signings or trades have taken place.

Even though Chicago is over the cap now and will have to make some moves, they have a base that will be able to maintain the team as a contender. In the immediate wake of, and even before, Patrick Kane’s shot slid through Michael Leighton and sent Chicago players and fans into the championship-elation stratosphere, pundits from all corners, including those at THN, were writing the team off as a one-and-done due to their dire cap situation in 2010-11.

Before the action kicks off on the conference finals, let's look back at the best of the best from the second round of the NHL playoffs. As I did for Round 1and using six of the 10 we rely on for our annual regular season awards, here are, through my eyes, the top performers from the conference semifinals:
WAYNE GRETZKY AWARD – Most Valuable Player
Jaroslav Halak, Montreal
Two rounds; two MVP honors.

From Jaroslav Halak's outstanding goalkeeping to Ian Laperriere's shot-blocking prowess, let's run down the top performances from the playoffs so far. The most exciting first round of recent memory has wrapped up. But before we turn our full focus to the round of eight, let’s look back at the top performers from the conference quarterfinals using seven of the 10 categories we rely on for our annual THN Awards (which, coincidentally, is the cover story in our most recent issue).

Few players can be key contributors with four decades behind them, but even at age 42, Boston's Mark Recchi provides a spark. There’s been a lot to pull you off the couch and into an oh-my-god-did-you-just-see-that standing position these playoffs, but one of my favorites so far has been the playoff of relative geriatric Mark Recchi.

Philadelphia has the skill to compete with any team in the NHL, but their undoing will be their inability to stay out of the penalty box. Maybe it won't happen against the offensively inept New Jersey Devils, but the Philadelphia Flyers had better get it together between the ears or they're going to find themselves on the golf course rather than deep in the playoffs.

An upset victory in Game 1 is sure to give the Canadiens confidence, but they must keep doing the key things if they hope to complete a series win. Two of the past four Presidents' Trophy-winning teams have lost in the first round of the playoffs and, thanks to a surprising 3-2 OT victory Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens are one step closer to making that stat three-of-five.

The keepers of the crease are often the key to success in the post-season, so which teams have the top masked men? We rank them all from top to bottom based on their work throughout this regular season and their past playoff performance. As evidenced by the fact 14 Conn Smythe Trophies have gone to the men between the pipes over the years (second only to centers with 15), it’s no secret good goaltending is a key to playoff success.

With the season winding down we look at some of the most surprising individual performances that may have flown under the radar. When you sleep, eat and breathe the glorious sport of hockey, there’s not much that sneaks up on you with only a couple weeks left in the regular season.

The race for MVP has come down to the wire with five contestants vying for the Hart Trophy at season's end. There’s a lot that can and will happen over the final few games of the regular season, but the NHL’s clash for most valuable player has become a five-horse race.

From Phil Kessel, to Benoit Pouliot to Kari Lehtonen and Peter Mueller, here are the top and bottom moves from this season. The real impact of a trade isn’t truly known until many games, or even many years, of hindsight are in the books. So while it might be a touch premature to pass the final judgment of GMs work this campaign, it’s never too early for a personal ranking of the early returns and “can I returns?” of this season’s swaps.

It's been almost 13 years since the Hartford Whalers played their final game, but that hasn't stopped one group's dream of bringing back the green. As the years continue to pile up since NHL hockey packed its bags and headed for windier pastures, it would be easy for the folks in Hartford to give up the desire of reviving the Whalers.